Economic Activities

in Your Locality
Learning Objectives
To learn about the economic activities in a locality
" To learn about the distribution of economic activities

21 critical thinking language and literacy

Set SailI

Lookaround your home or school-can you identify items like food, clothes or tools?
Where do you think these items came from, how were they made and who helped get
them to you? Investigate and discuss how different jobs and activities are connected to
these everyday things!

Introduction 4. Quaternary Activities: These involve

Activities that lead to generation of income knowledge-based services and activities.
through the production, supply, buying or
Examples include research and development,
information technology, consulting and
selling of goods and services are known as financial planning.
economic activities. The primary purpose of
such activities is to fulfil the basic needs of Primary Activities
people by providing a source of income. Primary activities are directly related to the
extraction and utilisation of natural resources.
Types of Economic (SVID
They form the basis of the economy by
Activities providing raw materials for further production.
Some such activities are:
Economic activities are broadly
divided into four categories: Agriculture: This includes growing Crops
and raising livestock for food, fibre and other
1. Primary Activities: These involve the products.
gathering, extracting or harvesting of natural
resources. Examples include farming,
fishing, nmining and forestry.
2. Secondary Activities: These involve the
processing of raw materials into finished
goods. Examples include manufacturing,
construction and food processing.
3. Tertiary Activities: These involve
providing services rather than goods. Agriculture is the people in
primary activity of many
Examples include retail, healthcare, India.
education, banking and entertainment.
 Fishing: This includes harvesting fish and
other aquatic organisms from water bodies. Secondary activities usually take place in
industrial areas and require significant
investment in machinery and technology.
Types of Industries
Industries can be classified on the basis of the
amount of capital invested, number of people
employed and the volume of production.
Large-scale Industries: These industries use
large capital investments, and employ a large
number of people. Such industries have huge
volume of production. The raw materials are
usually heavy and bulky. These industries
Fishing is also an important primary activity. are equipped with large machines and
require huge infrastructure. Examples of such
Mining: This includes extracting minerals, industries are iron and steel industries, cement
metals and other geological materials from the industry, textile industry, etc.
earth. Medium-scale Industries: These industries
Forestry: This includes managing forests for use comparatively less capital investments,
timber, paper production and conservation employ fewer number of people and have
purposes. a lower volume of production. Examnples of
These activities are typically labour-intensive such industries are the automobile industry,
and are often found in rural areas where electrical industry, etc.
natural resources are abundant. Small-scale Industries: These industries use
capital investments of up to ten crores, employ
215 critical thinking empathy fewer people and have a small volume of
Analyse respect for others
production. The manufactured items may cater
to smaller regions of the country or may be
Discuss what would happen if everyone exported to small foreign markets. Examples
refused to engage in primary activities? of such industries are furniture, brassware,
cycles, toys, electronic goods, etc.
Secondary Activities Cottage Industries: These industries employ
members of different families using hereditary
Secondary activities focus on transforming skilled craftsmanship to produce various
raw materials into finished goods. This stage household products, or things used in other
adds value to the raw materials and includes: industries. Examples of such industries are
Manufacturing: Producing goods in factories, pottery, handicrafts, handloom, etc.
Such as cars, clothing electronics and machinery
Construction: Building infrastructure such
as houses, roads, bridges and commercial
buildings
Food Processing: Converting raw food
materials into consumable products, such as
turning wheat into bread or milk into cheese
Vocab Help
Cottage lndustry
Cater: to provide
Tertiary Activities Consulting: Offering expert advice
Tertiary activities provide services rather in
fields such as business, law various
and engineering
than physical goods. These services support
the primary and secondary sectors Financial Planning: Helping individuals and
meet the direct needs of consumers. as well as businesses manage their financial
resources
include: Examples effectively
Retail: Selling goods directly to consumers in Tertiaryand quaternary activities often
shops, narkets and online highly educated and skilled workers and require
found in cities and are
typically
Healthcare: Providing medical services, higher educational institutions regions with
and research
including hospitals, clinics and pharmacies facilities.

EconomicActivities in a
Rural Locality
Nikhil lives with his family in Ganauli, a
in the Panchkula district of village
Haryana.
father is educated and works as a Nikhil's
postmaster
at the Ganauli sub-post office. His mother
is a
homemaker who takes care of Nikhil and his
younger sister, Kirti. In her free time, she takes
tuitions and teaches the children of the villagers.
Healthcare providers come under tertiary sector Both his parents are literate and work in the
Education: Offering teaching and learning tertiary sector.
services through schools, colleges and
universities 21 critical thlnking
Analyse
Banking and Finance: Managing money,
offering loans and financial planning services Why do you think Nikhil's parents are a
Entertainment: Providing avenues for of the tertiary sector? part
recreational activities such as cinemas, theatres
and sports events
Gender Distribution
Quaternary Activities
Ganauli has a total population of 831l people
Quaternary activities involve knowledge-based with 148 houses. The male
services that are crucial for the modern economy. population out of
These activities focus on information, the total is 442 and the female population is
research 389,
and development. Key examples include:
Research and
Development (R&D): Literacy Rate
Innovating and developing new products, The literacy rate of Ganauli village is 58 per
technologies and processes cent out of which 62.22 per cent males and
Information Technology (IT): Providing 53.21 per cent females are literate. The female
computer services, software development literacy rate is 24.9 per cent.
and data management
Economic Activities in the Village
In Ganauli, out of the total population,
465 people are engaged in economic activities.
 S0.43per cent of the workers describe their
work as main work (employment or earning crops. Most of these cultivators have big
for more than six months), while 19.57 per cent plots of land where they employ agricultural
labourers. Some of the cultivators are small
were involved in marginal activity providing landowners who are involved in growing crops
livelihood for less than six months. Of the for the survival of their families. They also
465 workers engaged in main work, 32 are belong to the primary sector of the economy.
cultivators (owner or c0-OWner) while 102 are
agricultural labourers (as per the census of Other Primary Activities in Villages
2011). In addition to agriculture, many rural
households engage in other primary activities
Types of Economic Activities in Rural for their income. These may include:
Areas
Animal Husbandry: Rearing livestock such as
People in rural areas follow different types of
economic activities to earn their living. Some goats,sheep and pigs for meat, milk and wool
of them are farmers, others are agricultural Forestry: Collecting wood, rubber, etc., from
the forests
labourers while some others work in secondary
and tertiary sectors. Fisheries: Harvesting fish from rivers, ponds
and coastal areas
AgriculturalLabourers Sericulture: Producing silk through the rearing
An agricultural labourer is a person who does of silkworms
not own a piece of and works on someone
else's land. They are paid for the work they Apiculture: Beekeeping for honey and other
perform on another person's land. They bee products
perform agricultural activities on these lands, Industry Workers
and therefore earn their living through primary Villages normally havecottage and small-scale
economic activities. In most agricultural industries. Many people work in these
villages, the number of agricultural labourers industries. During the lean period, the farmers
1S very high. Both men and women work as also work in these small-scale industries. Some
agricultural labourers. of these industries are pickle industry, papad
Cultivators industry, handicraft industry, incense stick
Cultivators are people who are owners or making industry, etc. Some other industries,
CO-owners of the land where they cultivate may include:

wRACEM

Apart from agriculture, several small-scale and cottage industries are Common in rural areas of India.
Vocab Help
Marginal: very small in amount
Lean Period: a period of time where there is not enough of something
Weaving: Producing handloom fabrics, carpets the main market of the city of
and textiles Bhiwani. Her
brother studies in Class 10. Neetika
Pottery: Making earthenware and decorative 6. Both of them study in a public is in Class
school.
pottery items her parents work in the tertiary sector. Both
Basketry: Crafting baskets, mats and other Gender Distribution
items from banmboo, cane and grass According to the Census of India, 2011, Bhiwani
Carpentry: Creating wooden furniture and has a population of 1,96,057. Males constitute
tools 54 per cernt and females 46 per cent of the
Other Norkers population.
People working in various other professions Literacy Rate
can be considered to be other workers Bhiwani has an average literacy rate of 69 per
in villages. These may include artisans, cent, higher than the national average of 59.5
government employees, teachers, doctors, per cent; with male literacy at 76 per cent and
post office workers, people working in banks, female literacy at 62 per cent.
lawyers,small factory workers, etc.
Work Profile
Non-working Population Bhiwani is primarily an agricultural district, and
The non-working population of a village the vast majority of its population lives in villages.
comprises of the people who have not engaged Agriculture provides sustenance to about 86
at all in any economic activity in the last one per cent of its inhabitants, either through direct
year. They are known as non-workers. cultivation or through allied occupations.
In rural areas, a large number of people fall People in Bhiwani city are employed in various
into this category. Homemakers, dependent kinds of economic activities.
children and old people comprise the non
working population. Types of Economic Activities in Urban
Areas
Explore In towns and cities, people are mainly engaged
in the secondary, tertiary and quaternary
Engage in a survey. Interview people in sectors. Places rich in minerals have mines
your neighbourhood. Find out what kinds and people working in mines or quarries are
of occupations people in your locality are involved in primary activities.
engaged in. Take help from a trusted adult
in this.

Economic Activities
in Urban Areas
Neetika lives in the district of Bhiwani in
Haryana along with her parents and her Workers at a construction site
elder brother. Neetika's mother is a nurse
and her father is a businessman. He owns
a showroom of ready-made garments in Cultivators
Vocab Help Very few people are cultivators in urban areas.
Meagre: very small or not enough Some of the people living on the outskirts of
the cities are involyed in cultivating crops.
Makeshift: temporary
Economic Activities in Urban Areas

Industry Workers barely make ends meet from their meagre

income.
Big cities and industrial towns have large-scale
industries which employ a large amount of Food hawkers, and other vendors too, fall
skilled and unskilled labour. There are also in the category of street vendors. They work
many small-scale and cottage industries. Many in makeshift structures. They are not big
people in small towns work in small-scale businessmen who can afford employees, hence
industries. most of the work is done by the members of
empathy spirit of service their family.
Analyse Vendors and hawkers form a major chunk of
the population of our towns and cities. We are
During COVID, many industry workers lost largely dependent on them for our daily needs.
their jobs due to the shutting down of Regular Employment
factories. Many remained jobless, and many People who are employed long-term with an
are still recovering. How can you, with the
help of your community, help such people? office, factory, college, etc., are considered to
be on regular employment. Such people go to
Street Vendors their workplace at least five or six days a week
and work there for a given period of time.
Ice creamn hawkers, vegetable hawkers, etc.,who They get asalary at the end of every month.
sell items in various colonies are street vendors. In addition to the salary, they get certain
They generally live a humble life. For example, benefits like medical facilities, pension (in
a vegetable hawker buys vegetables from the some cases), provident fund, gratuity, etc.
wholesale market and sells them to individuals, They also get weekly holidays and casual
with a margin of a couple of rupees. They can and medical leave.
Self-Employed
There are some people who do not work for
a particular organisation or company, but run
Capsule
Info
219 information literacy
Atrade union is an organisation of
workers which bargains with the
their own businesses. Those who do this on a employer on behalf of the union
large-scale generally take a loan from a bank to members to imprOve the conditions
start their business. They need to find a place to of their employment.
set up their business and then hire employees
towork with them.
Other Workers
They alsO need to get a clearance from the Many people in urban areas earn their living
Municipal Corporation to start their business
formally. through tertiary activities. These could be
members of the public and defernce services
There are also some people who work from and all those working in the fields of education.
home but do not have a formal establishment.
medicine, law, engineering and transport.
Such people work for one or more companies
and are paid on the basis of the work they do. Non-working Population
They are known as freelancers.
The non-working population in urban areas
Daily Wage Earners comprises of homemakers, children and old
Have you noticed the carpenter who comes
people. In big cities, many people migrate from
villages and smaller towns in search of better
to fix wooden items at your house? Or the jobs. Sometimes, they do not get jobs and are
painter who is called to paint the house during then categorised as non-working population.
renovation? Or a construction site worker?
These workers are daily wage earners. This To sum up, most of the people in urban areas
means that they get paid at the end of each day are involved in secondary and tertiary sectors
for the work they do. If they take a day off, they as teachers, traders, doctors, engineers, industry
do not earn any wages. Most often, daily wage workers, etc. A very small percentage of
earners tie up with contractors who work on population works in the primary sector. Alarge
construction sites,etc. They are paid ameagre percentage of male and female population is
literate.
amount and have to put in long hours at work.

Daily Wage Earners

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 Time Traveller

Employment During the British Rule in India

During British rule in India, the types of jobs people had were largely influenced by the
colonial economy and the needs of the British administration. These jobs were often divided
between traditional roles in agriculture and new roles created by the British industrial and
administrative systems.
1. Agriculture: The majority of Indians were employed in
farming during British India. Farmers grew crops such as
wheat, rice, jute and cotton. Many farmers faced hardships
due to high taxes imposed by the British and the shift
to cash crops like indigo and tea, which were grown
for export rather than for local consumption. This made
farming more difficult and often less profitable.
2. Textile Workers and Artisans: Before British rule, India had
athriving textile industry, particularly in weaving cotton and
silk fabrics. However, under British control, Indian weavers
and artisans struggled due to the import of cheaper machine
made textiles from Britain. Still, many artisans continued to produce handmade goods,
though their numbers declined as British industrial products dominated the market.
3. Factory Workers: As British rule progressed, India saw the rise of factories, especially in
industries such as textiles, jute and coal mining. Indian labourers were often employed
in these factories under harsh conditions, receiving low wages and working long hours.
These jobs were concentrated in cities like Calcutta (Kolkata), Bombay (Mumbai) and
Madras (Chennai), where British industries were established.
4. Railway Workers: The British built an extensive railway network in India, and many
Indians found work in building and maintaining railways, as well as working as train
drivers, porters and station staff. This infrastructure was crucial for transporting goods
and people across the country, especially to support British trade.
5. Clerks and Administrators: The British colonial government employed many Indians
as clerks and administrators in their offices. These jobs, though seen as respectable, often
had low wages and limited opportunities for advancement. Many educated Indians
entered this sector, working in government offices, courts and British companies.
6. Military and Police: The British relied heavily on Indian soldiers, known as sepoys, to
maintain control over the vast colony. Indian soldiers served in the British Indian Army.
fighting both within the country and in wars abroad. Many Indians were also employed
in the police force, enforcing British laws and maintaining order.
7. Service Workers: Many Indians worked in service jobs, such as household helps, cooks,
gardeners and drivers for British families living in India. These roles were common in
British households, particularly in large cities and towns where the British elite resided.
This mixture of traditional occupations and new colonial jobs shaped the economic
landscape of British India, with many Indians working in roles that supported the British
economy while facing exploitation arnd limited opportunities for advancement.

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